This year has been the most transformative in terms of turning a house used as a B&B for decades back into its original intended purpose, a family home.
A full write-up of our renovation of the family room is here.
This year, a major undertaking was renovating this 1980s addition, which served as the community room for the B&B.
Mars helping remove nine window sills.
Library
We made strides this year in the library. Be sure to check out our latest update here.
We end the year having refinished the original floor and recreating the ornate doorway into the Men’s parlor.
Porch
Last year we began the process of painting the porch. We continued this year by painting and replacing all of the exterior screens.
We have also continued working on the main french doors.
BeforeAfter
In the spring, we added porch gates for an increasingly curious toddler.
Men’s Parlor
As we get closer to finishing the library, we are preparing to tackle one of our favorite spaces in the house, the Men’s parlor. When we first moved in, it was still configured to be the game room for the B&B with a pool table and poker table.
Around the time we refinished the library floor, we moved the pool table from the Men’s parlor into the basement. The floors in the Men’s parlor are in good shape since there was a large carpet covering most of the heavy foot traffic.
Windows
One of the most important features of a historic building is its windows. Windows are like eyes for your home. All of the windows in the house (except the three in the mansard roof) are wood. Before we moved in, they had begun chipping. We have been in the process of restoring every window. We are happy to say we are now 20 windows in of what feels like countless.
I’ve learned that it’s a labor of love carefully scraping, sanding, sealing, reglazing, and painting these windows. I have chosen to take this on because this will be needed every 5-10 years.
Conclusion
We feel truly blessed and surrounded by community. On December 1st, we welcomed our twin girls into the world. The outpour of love and fellowship has been truly overwhelming. We chose Hermann to raise a family and restore a historic building; we couldn’t be happier with that choice.
We are excited for 2022 and continuing the restoration of this home. Stay tuned!
Alexandria after we recently painted the porch floor.
We are excited about the momentum we have after our first year of working on the home. It has been a big year for our family. We moved from Florida to Missouri and soon welcomed our son into the world. With all of this change, we were able to kick off important projects for this house.
BeforeAfterDarker green, creamier white, haint blue ceilings, darker floor color, and new accent colors bring new life to a once tired victorian porch.
We chose to tackle painting the porch this year because it represents most of the house’s external wood. It was over 20 years ago since the entire porch was painted; the paint was chipping and had faded.
BeforeAfterNew ceiling and light fixtures after replacing the roof.
We were surprised when we first moved in; it turns out we had a major water feature built directly into our porch! The flat roof covering the gazebo had a major leak that had supposedly been fixed.
This leak turned out to be a larger problem than expected, and the entire portion of the roof had to be replaced. After replacing the roof, we turned to the ceiling that was ruined.
Here are progress photos:
BeforeDown come the screens in prep for pressure washingBefore painting with the original lightingStarting with the ceilingProgress across most colorsPainting in the dark is hard workBefore: Mildew, layers of paint and boards needing replacingPrep: Replaced the parameter of the porch floor, pressure washing and sanded the entire floorCrisp resultsReplacing the parameter of the floorNew light fixtures are installedAlmost there, molding is left to be installedBaby approvedAfter
Library Restoration
BeforeAfterGoodbye, second B&B kitchen, and hello library! Removing the cabinets revealed beautiful molding. We also uncovered a doorway into the men’s parlor.
Having been a B&B for several decades, it only makes sense that there would be a second kitchen. We came across an old photo of this room and discovered it originally was the library. Being one of the smaller first floor rooms, it is one of the more complex. The library originally had a marble fireplace, one of the largest windows in the house, built-in wood cabinets with glass doors, and a doorway into the men’s parlor. We’re putting it back to how it was as close as we can. Be sure to checkout Part 1 and Part 2 of the library restoration on the blog for more detail.
Cast Iron Fence
BeforeAfterCorrecting the listing fence took several months and multiple teams.
One of the home’s most beautiful exterior features is the original cast iron fence with large limestone footers. Unfortunately, it has been playing a game of tug of war with the Missouri winters. The expansion and contraction have slowly pushed the left side of the fence, almost tipping over at one point. In February, it made a big move and jumped to the top of our list.
I lost track of the number of contractors and specialists that looked at this fence. I have to admit, in the end, I overthought my entire approach to rescuing this fence. We did find help, and it took a degree of finesse. Trenches were dug on the backside of both sides of the fence, and wood was used to move the footers back into place carefully. I had thought deadmen were the way to go, but after careful assessment, the engineering needed to protect the 133-year-old footers was overkill for the length of the fence. To help protect against the fence listing in the future, we’re using drainage on the backside to help during the winters.
Landscaping
One very large sick tree towered over the five-story house. We knew it was one bad storm away from a terrible consequence. We also took out two overgrown bushes that were eyesores.
BeforeAfterView of the porch from 7th street.BeforeAfterAn assortment of bushes and grapevines form what we nicknamed “the thing”.BeforeAfterAn invasive weed tree with a sick core towered over the house.
Lamp Post
BeforeAfterA small win, the front lamp post is refreshed.
After trying multiple bulbs and flipping every switch we could find on the first level, the post would not light up. It wasn’t until removing an unpermitted room in the basement that I discovered electricity to the poll had been cut. We restored the electricity, and now the light post shines bright. Looking down from the third floor, it had started to rust. With a bit of prep, it only took a couple of hours to paint the lamp a fresh gloss black oil paint (refreshing quick win after countless hours of acrylic paints on the porch).
The Herzog Mansion front porch and lamp post shine again!
Basement
We love the basement; it’s the entire footprint of the historic home. It has an original coal room, cellar, and multiple large rooms. There was a nearly finished room that turned out not to be permitted. I ordered a construction container and demoed the room in a day. Fortunate to do so, discovered where electricity had been cut to the ladies parlor above. The entire basement had plaster ceilings originally, which had been largely removed. First time removing plaster, and I have to say, wow, that’s a messy job!
Conclusion
We are excited about the momentum going into 2021. Alexandria and I were reflecting recently on our first year in Hermann, and the main theme that surfaced was gratitude. We feel truly blessed to have been so warmly welcomed into the community.
What’s next? Wrap up the porch and library restoration. From there, we’re going to start painting exterior windows. There is still much to do!